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The case of Lucio Dupuy is shocking and painful. Because he was five years old. Because he was brutally beaten to death. Because those who were supposed to care for him tortured and abused him. Because all the State's protocols and procedures to protect children failed. Because society continues to normalize violence as an educational methodology.

For the child's death, his mother, Magdalena Espósito Valenti , and her partner, Abigaíl Páez . The court found them materially responsible and criminally responsible for the crime of triple and doubly aggravated homicide due to their relationship, treachery, and cruelty. Páez was also convicted of sexual abuse, "aggravated by the fact that she was the guardian and committed against a minor under 18 years of age, taking advantage of the preexisting cohabitation situation as a continuing crime," according to the verdict of the La Pampa Court of Appeals.

“This is a very difficult case to handle, and it should be a pivotal one for everyone. We need to talk, we need to denounce child abuse,” said Mario Aguerrido , the plaintiff's attorney for Lucio's family. “It's the maximum sentence. Beyond the differences regarding sexual abuse involving only the mother and not the partner, I understand the sentence will be life imprisonment,” said Walter Martos , the prosecutor in charge of the case. “I thank everyone for the miles they traveled to find out the murderers' guilt. Lucio made history in Argentina,” commented Ramón Dupuy , the victim's grandfather.

Lucio's crime and "gender ideology"

"Since when has this monster been on hormones?" asked doctor Rodrigo Salemi on a newscast on A24. The question referred to Abigaíl Páez, who had reportedly requested to continue her hormone treatment in prison. And then the same doctor responded: "The most significant adverse effect of hormone treatment is emotional fluctuations. This means increased aggression."

Lucio's infanticide caused a section of society to point fingers at feminist movements as responsible for the violence. "Where are the feminists?" was the question repeated in mainstream national media. It exposed the misogyny and collective homophobia of a society that questions and draws conclusions about the correct ways of mothering.

"If I give hormones to a trans man, it doesn't mean I'm turning him into a violent person."

— Fabiana Reina

That the murderers participated in "Not One Less" marches, that they championed the slogan "Death to the Male," that they were a consequence of "gender ideology," were some of the statements circulating on social media to discredit feminist struggles. Since Lucio's case became publicized, many political and media sectors have lumped their prejudices together to attack progress on gender issues in Argentina.

The debate that began on the A24 program was between journalists and a doctor who isn't specialized in the subject. He himself acknowledged this, clarifying that the idea of ​​aggression as an adverse effect: "is not his, but the Huésped Foundation's." 

"If I give hormones to a trans man, it doesn't mean I'm turning this person into a violent person," clarifies Fabiana Reina to La Palta, a gynecological toxin specialist in gynecological endocrinology and a reference in comprehensive care for people with gender diversity through the National Program for Sexual, Reproductive Health and Diversity. She adds: "If this person has a history of contextualization where I assume they will be violent, that has to do with my assessment at the time I see the patient."

Reina, as a physician specializing in hormone therapy, makes it clear that violence doesn't stem from the treatment itself, but from the context in which the person—like anyone else—disturbs socially. "If I eventually know that testosterone isn't going to make him more violent, but I have a person who is in a violent context, I have to work on that," the specialist repeats, adding that "providing such biased information (like that of Dr. Salemi) warrants responding by saying that journalism must report from a gender perspective and with reliable data. Find trained people to answer questions or concerns regarding these issues."

The failures of the State

Following Lucio's murder, the media and the public reacted against family courts and their "privilege toward women" when awarding custody of children. One day before the court declared the murderers guilty, Judge Ana Clara Pérez Ballester was accused of being responsible for approving an agreement between Lucio's uncles and his mother, granting custody of the child to the defendants.

However, one fact does not invalidate the other. In Argentina, statistics on child abuse show that 62.1% of perpetrators are men and 53.8% are fathers. When it comes to sexual violence, 81.1% of perpetrators are men, and 24% of child and adolescent victims were sexually abused by their biological parents. The fact that Lucio's mother and her partner murdered him is alarming, but it does not undermine the complaints of women's movements.

The Gender Identity Law is clear and states that a person, even if their name changes on their ID, is liable under civil and criminal law like any other. This means that if someone owes a debt or commits a crime under a given name, those rights and obligations do not disappear when they change their identity. "I accompany three girls and two boys in the provincial prison system who are receiving hormone therapy, but that doesn't mean they won't have to serve their sentences," says Fabiana Reina. 

Preventing violence by adults in child care is also a task of the child and adolescent protection system, stipulated by Law 26061 of 2010. "What happened to that system? It didn't properly assess Lucio's situation?" the specialist asks, emphasizing the State's lack of responsibility, for example, in the five admissions the victim had to the health system for traumatic injuries. "Although violence is domestic and private, it always has contact with the health system or the social system. There's always a neighbor who sees or hears it, for example, and who doesn't want to intervene," Reina reflects, maintaining that one of the shortcomings is that violence is treated the wrong way around: "We always arrive late, and the work should be the other way around. We have to prevent it and provide the correct information." The doctor concludes: "Look how complicated it is to lose a five-year-old child due to abuse. This person's hormone therapy is just the tip of an iceberg that shows that the entire society and public policies are failing."

This article was originally published in La Palta.